Stoick the Vast (Books)
|Gallerycaption = |Source = Book}} Stoick the Vast is the chief of the Isle of Berk, the husband of Valhallarama, and the father of Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III in the How to Train Your Dragon book series. Official Description Biography Taking His Young Son to Sea Stoick's very young son, Hiccup, is afraid of many things. When Hiccup comes to him and tells him that he was scared of sailing out to sea, Stoick laughs, tells him Vikings don't get scared, and sings the rowdy Viking Song. Later, he takes Hiccup out with him and some other adult Vikings on an ocean voyage. Hiccup gets seasick at his feet, but still he says that Vikings don't get seasick. At the same time, a violent storm blows up and tosses the ship around and sends it off course. All the adult Vikings, including Stoick, loose their bearing and get seasick themselves. At seeing this, Hiccup feels better and takes control of the ship and sails them home. When Stoick and Hiccup return to land, Old Wrinkly asks if Vikings get scared, and they admit that yes, sometimes they do, but they are brave by overcoming their fears. Toothless Daydream After Hiccup's new hunting dragon, Toothless, wakes up from Winter Hibernation, he gets to see him for the first time. Stoick notes how very small Toothless is. To help Hiccup save face in front of his father, Fishlegs creates a story, indicating that Toothless is actually a rare Toothless Daydream dragon. In addition, Toothless is from a royal lineage from King Daggerfangs. This story of a rare, exclusive, and royal dragon puts Stoick's mind at ease that the son of a chief does not have such an ordinary dragon after all. Thor'sday Thursday Stoick enjoys the festivities of Thors'day Thursday, eating and placing bets. Hiccup is also to appear in the Final Initiation Test with Toothless and become a full member of the tribe. However, when the Viking Initiates' dragons run amok, he was included in an Elder Huddle to decide their fate. Since the initiates failed to demonstrate control over their dragons, the Elder Huddle decided to exile all of them, even Hiccup. Stoick experiences much internal conflict about that decision. Dealing with the Green Death After an unsettling night, Badbreath the Gruff informs Stoick that two extremely large dragons have arrived on the shores of Berk, the Green Death and an Unnamed Seadragonus Giganticus Maximus. Stoick looks for himself and found that the Green Death had eaten the other dragon. He convenes a Council of War with the Big Drums, and spends a large amount of time trying to figure out what to do with the large dangerous dragon. Tactics include yelling at it, and seeking guidance from Old Wrinkly and also the How to Train Your Dragon. Later he asks Hiccup to speak with the Green Death to see if it comes in peace or war. The dragon replies that he comes in peace, but will eat everyone anyway. After some more brainstorming, Stoick arrives at the Dragon's location just in time to see Hiccup being tossed into the Green Death's mouth. By the brave actions of Toothless, the Green Death sneezes out a still-alive Hiccup. Hiccup is unconscious and Stoick moves to protect his son with his life and shield. The Green Death tries to breathe fire and incinerate them, but as Hiccup had plugged up his fire-holes, the gasses build up and the Green Death explodes. Stoick sees a talon flying through the air aimed right at Hiccup and throws up his shield with quick reflexes and saves his son from being impaled. Search for Grimbeard's Treasure The Viking Novices bring back a coffin that was floating in the sea and ran into the ship the novices were practicing 'Swordfighting at Sea' on. The Hooligan villagers congregate and discuss whether to open the coffin or follow the directions on it - do not open! Despite Hiccup and Old Wrinkly advising against opening it, Stoick opens the coffin anyway. Inside he finds Alvin, the poor-but-honest-farmer. After Alvin revives from his half-drowned state, he "wheedles" his way into Stoick's graces and convinces him to set out on a journey to the Isle of the Skullions to find Grimbeard the Ghastly's buried treasure. Alvin plays on Stoick's desire for infamy, overcoming better judgement. As the Quest to find Grimbeard's treasure becomes a reality, Stoick becomes motivated by fame and fortune. He pushes Hiccup to be the person to find the treasure, which would mark him as the true heir to the Hooligan Tribe. He gets very upset when his nephew, Snotlout, finds the treasure instead, marking Snotlout as the future heir to the tribe, not Hiccup. When discussion ensues whether to open the possibly booby-trapped chest, Stoick feels that Hiccup is making excuses not to open it, and does so anyway, also motivated by greed. Subtly at first, the box starts emitting a strong foul odor, strong enough to awaken all the Skullions on the island. The Skullions chase everyone to the beach, everyone escapes except Hiccup, who tripped on a very long sword Stoick had given him. Seeing his son in danger, he leaps to his defense and displays extreme fighting skill and wild aggression fighting off the hoards of large deadly Skullions. His dragon, Newtsbreath, also comes to his aid. Battle Aboard the Lucky Thirteen On the voyage home from the Isle of the Skullions, Stoick argues with his brother Baggybum the Beerbelly about who should get the treasure and also get the Stormblade. The brothers fight with a staring contest. Gobber and Hugefarts separate the two, or else they'd stare all day. However, when the Lucky Thirteen gets taken over by Outcasts, the brothers fight against their common enemy, back to back. Alvin betrays the Hooligans, who is actually the chief of the Outcasts. The Hooligans are captured and Stoick is held by an Outcast Hiccup nicknames "Curly Horns" with a knife to the throat. Alvin announces he will sell all of them as slaves, except Stoick and his heir, who will be eaten by the Outcasts themselves as a sign of respect. Though Stoick and Baggybum had just been arguing that Snotlout may be the true heir to the tribe, Baggybum's son remains quiet. Instead, Hiccup steps forward, knowing he is about to die. Stoick is very proud of Hiccup for doing this. Alvin is about to kill Hiccup while Stoick looks on, but at that moment, Toothless rolls in a barrel into Alvin's legs and topples him over. Toothless had been trapped by Alvin under the barrel and finally manages to tip it over. The other dragons had already flown home ahead of the ship. That brief diversion gives Stoick time to punch Curly Horns and the "Battle Aboard the Lucky Thirteen ensues. Ultimately the Hooligans win, but not before the ship catches fire and sinks. The Hooligans and captive Outcasts move to the Hammerhead, the Outcast ship. Unfortunately, Alvin, Fishlegs, and Hiccup are trapped on the sinking ship and disappear under the surface. Stoick is shattered at the loss of his son, and mourns his loss by staying at home in front of a shrine to Woden, having forgotten about the allure of the lost treasure. Hiccup and Viking Norms Hiccup, in a 'Board-an-Enemy-Ship' lesson, both sunk his ship, lost Toothless, got lost at sea and boarded a Roman Ship instead of a Peaceable ship as the lesson dictated. Stoick reviewed Hiccup's Pirate Training Program report card, which was abysmal. Then Hiccup tried to tell Soick about a wacky 'Fiendishly Clever Plan' the Romans had to pit the Hooligans and the Bog-Burglars against each other. Despite disappointment after disappointment, Stoick noticed how saddened Hiccup was at the loss of Toothless, so in an attempt to comfort his son, he reiterated that Hiccup "must be a MAN about it" and discussed that a Viking Chief must put aside his own feelings for the good of the tribe and feel no pain or fear. The next day, despite Hiccup's warning of the Roman plan, Stoick be comes unmanageably irate from a letter from the Big-Boobied Bertha declaring a Blood Feud for kidnapping their heir (which the Romans did disguised as Hooligans). After Hiccup is also kidnapped by 'Bog-Burglars' (Disguised Romans), Stoick ponders long and hard whether to believe the strange story from his son, or commence the Blood Feud for the honor and pride of the Hooligan Tribe. Ultimately he chooses his son and sails to Fort Sinister. He is followed by Bertha, who has not realized that they are being tricked. While arguing, a Roman Observation Balloon crashes onto The Blue Whale, containing his son and friends. They reunite joyously. Hiccup's 'Odd' Little Friend Stoick realizes that Hiccup is hanging out with the odd and weak Fishlegs. He speaks to Hiccup about the duties of a chief and reminds Hiccup that people judge you based on who you spend your time with, and in the case of Fishlegs, other Vikings may think Hiccup weak and easy to take advantage of. Later, Fishlegs falls into his Berserker state easily due to illness. He insults and yells at the chief in public. Hiccup tries to explain that Fishlegs is ill, but Stoick will have none of it. When Old Wrinkly reveals that Fishlegs may have Vorpentitis, Stoick forbids Hiccup from going on a dangerous and apparently foolhardy quest for a potato, which is thought to be a mythical vegetable. Hiccup goes anyway, lying to Stoick that he is spending the night at Snotlout's house. Stoick eventually figures out that Hiccup is in fact, not at Snotlout's house and went out to find the potato anyway. Stoick is both angry and worried for his son's safety. Stoick also realizes, simply by watching Snotlout's reactions, that Snotlout may not have good intentions concerning Hiccup. Physical Appearance Stoick, as his name suggests, is very large and stocky. In Hiccup: The Viking Who Was Seasick, Stoick is a large, bear-footed and unkempt man with bright red hair, beard, and body hair. Despite being "forty and very, very fat" (at the time of the main Book series), Stoick is very limber and quick and is a renowned fighter. Stoick has wild red facial hair "with enough red, haystacky beard and barrels of belly to equip at least ''two decent-sized Viking chieftains."'' Stoick is described in How to Cheat a Dragon's Curse as being 6.5 feet tall, and muscular. However, later in the same Book, he is said to be 6 foot 7 inches tall, with a girth of 3 feet. Personality Stoick is not the smartest man alive, but he does have good qualities. Although Stoick avoids fighting far more than most Vikings, this is not due to cowardice or incompetence. He has shown himself to be one of the greatest warriors in the Archipelago, fighting his way out of an enormous pack of Skullions and coming in second in the inter-tribal Sword Fighting competition. Stoick can be very temperamental and very quick to anger. "Stoick was often wild, often shouty, often going off the deep end", according to How to Speak Dragonese. According to Old Wrinkly, "He means well, but when things get complicated, he gets confused." Stoick is susceptible to greed for fame and fortune as many people are. When presented with finding Grimbeard's lost treasure, he for goes common sense to pursue it, including not listening to his son, and becoming upset when Snotlout finds the treasure instead. However, his love for his son trumps any greed he may be feeling when his son is in danger. After becoming a slave, he was deeply humiliated and ashamed of what had happened and what his son did. Eventually, with time being a slave, he began to gain a different perspective on his life and his actions. Realizing the mistakes he did and what he could’ve done better. When he found out Hiccup was inside Prison Darkheart, he was overjoyed and happy to find his son alive and well. Relationships Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III In the books, Stoick the Vast is constantly trying to decide right from wrong with his son, because Hiccup is constantly challenging his Viking traditions. He is very loving towards Hiccup, which is not generally considered proper behavior for a Chief. Valhallarama Stoick the Vast was married to Valhallarama after he found the Fire Stone for Old Wrinkly (Valhallarama's father). They had a son and named him Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III. Big-Boobied Bertha Stoick and Big-Boobied Bertha, have had a long rivalry. They always meet each other in competitions, always fighting, arguing or squabbling over the tiniest things, always trying to one-up each other. As well as their rivalry, both of their islands are neighbours, making stealing competitions even more heated. Although it seems as though they really don’t like each other at first, they are usually quite friendly to one another when in times of need. Such as the time when Camicazi was missing, Stoick sent his entire fleet searching for the Bog-burglar heiress. They otherwise enjoy sharing passionate arguments and simply contesting each other wherever they can. 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